Part Two Swears, Spoilers and things that might upset the fandom Kat joins us to chat about Harry Potter. We think it might be gothic... Our blog thefrankenpod.wordpress.com Music: Swing Gitane by The Underscore Orkestra is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Swears, Spoilers and things that might upset the fandom Kat joins us to chat about Harry Potter. We think it might be gothic... Our blog thefrankenpod.wordpress.com Music: Swing Gitane by The Underscore Orkestra is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Swears, Spoilers and Kat in correction corner! Morgan read the 1886 novel The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Brent watched the 2007 BBC series Jekyll Our blog thefrankenpod.wordpress.com Music: Swing Gitane by The Underscore Orkestra is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Spoilers, Swears and One Very Grumpy Statue Morgan tells Brent about the original gothic hipster (he did it before it was cool) Horace Walpole, his novel The Castle of Otranto and his ridiculous mansion Strawberry Hill. Music: Swing Gitane by The Underscore Orkestra is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Our blog […]

Swears, Spoilers and Scrooge/Snape comparisons Who wants a Christmas special after Christmas? That's right! No one. We missed the window... or we are super early for Christmas 2019. Promo is The Electric Monks podcast Music: Swing Gitane by The Underscore Orkestra is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Our […]

Swears, Spoilers and Weird Scorch Marks We examine the movie The Mothman Prophecies (2002) with a little contextual help from the source material (The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel 1975) and the urban legend background that only Wives Tales could provide. Promo Music: Swing Gitane by The Underscore Orkestra is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Sha […]

Swears, Spoilers and Kids with Guns Melissa and Morgan both read Rage. Then we both had a bit of a rage. What is it about this terrifyingly suburban gothic and thoroughly unrealistic novel that inspires real teenagers to do some very real and horrific acts? How much of these acts can really be attributed to King's juvenalia? And what would it take for y […]

Part Two Swears, Spoilers and things that might upset the fandom Kat joins us to chat about Harry Potter. We think it might be gothic... Our blog thefrankenpod.wordpress.com Music: Swing Gitane by The Underscore Orkestra is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Swears, Spoilers and things that might upset the fandom Kat joins us to chat about Harry Potter. We think it might be gothic... Our blog thefrankenpod.wordpress.com Music: Swing Gitane by The Underscore Orkestra is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Swears, Spoilers and Kat in correction corner! Morgan read the 1886 novel The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Brent watched the 2007 BBC series Jekyll Our blog thefrankenpod.wordpress.com Music: Swing Gitane by The Underscore Orkestra is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Spoilers, Swears and One Very Grumpy Statue Morgan tells Brent about the original gothic hipster (he did it before it was cool) Horace Walpole, his novel The Castle of Otranto and his ridiculous mansion Strawberry Hill. Music: Swing Gitane by The Underscore Orkestra is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Our blog […]

Swears, Spoilers and Scrooge/Snape comparisons Who wants a Christmas special after Christmas? That's right! No one. We missed the window... or we are super early for Christmas 2019. Promo is The Electric Monks podcast Music: Swing Gitane by The Underscore Orkestra is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Our […]

Swears, Spoilers and Weird Scorch Marks We examine the movie The Mothman Prophecies (2002) with a little contextual help from the source material (The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel 1975) and the urban legend background that only Wives Tales could provide. Promo Music: Swing Gitane by The Underscore Orkestra is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Sha […]

Swears, Spoilers and Kids with Guns Melissa and Morgan both read Rage. Then we both had a bit of a rage. What is it about this terrifyingly suburban gothic and thoroughly unrealistic novel that inspires real teenagers to do some very real and horrific acts? How much of these acts can really be attributed to King's juvenalia? And what would it take for y […]

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Tag: mr w.h.

Hello! Here is another article that continues the themes and texts we are exploring in The FrankenPod.

This is an extra something-something to go with our exploration of Oscar Wilde and The Picture of Dorian Gray. It could be easy to dismiss Wilde’s contribution to the gothic literary canon as being somewhat of a one-hit-wonder situation. But there is this little story that as a Shakespeare conspiracy enthusiast (as a spectator, not necessarily as a subscriber to those theories) has a very dear place in my heart. There are a few features of The Portrait of Mr W.H. that will be familiar to readers of the exploits of Mr Gray.

Not many people consider it gothic, and that is fair, I can definitely see that argument. However, The Portrait of Mr W.H. features death, a potential curse, mystery and obsession; certainly traits we would ascribe to the gothic.

So what does this Victorian story have to do with Shakespeare?

Every.God.Damn.Thing.

Dedication of Shakespeare’s Sonnets

There are two people believed to be explicitly addressed in Shakespeare’s Sonnets; “The Fair Youth” and “The Dark Lady”. There are many theories as to the identities of these two, and it is “The Fair Youth” who is the preoccupation of the characters and potentially the author of The Portrait of Mr W.H. The sonnets are dedicated to a Mr W.H. who many theorists believe is “The Fair Youth” of the sonnets

It is widely believed that Shakespeare was either in some kind of romantic relationship with ‘The Fair Youth”, or at the very least infatuated with him. So if you could discover the identity of Mr W.H. it follows that you would have discovered the identity of the elusive writer’s love interest. There are two main theories as to who he might be William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, or Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton. However, there are literary theorists who have posited more humble origins for Shakespeare’s muse. A young poor man would not necessarily have had the means to create lasting documentation, such as a grand portrait or written proof of his existence, and therein lies the issue, you can’t possibly prove that this ignoble young man who might have been the object of the great bard’s affections exists, but you have no way to categorically prove he didn’t. It seems this meant a great deal to Wilde, or at the very least Lord Alfred Douglas, the latter of whom explicitly stated that he believed the theory that is posited by Wilde in this story. The theory put forward by Wilde in the text, or rather put forward by Cyril Graham, was that Mr W.H. was, in fact, Willie Hughes, a player in Shakespeare’s company. Willie Hughes is thought to have played the young female parts in Shakespeare’s theatre company, or so the theory states.

But did Willie Hughes ever even exist?

The actor’s existence and the nature of belief are at the heart of The Portrait of Mr W.H.

Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton

Erskine relays the story, very close to his heart about a young man who he was particularly fond of, a young man who is described in similar terms to Dorian Gray. Wilde does love to include very handsome young men in his books, and these young men occasionally descend into madness and despair. Wilde constructs his young men in crisis in much the same way as the spectacle of the damsel in distress is constructed. They are something to behold, Dorian Gray when we first meet him is serving as an artist’s model and the enchanting Cyril Graham is an aspiring actor. They are men being subject to the male gaze in a way that is similar to the righteous Mathilda and virginal Isabella in The Castle of Otranto or Lucy Westenra of Dracula with her multiple suitors and just about every young woman in Lewis’s The Monk.

However, less like the examples from The Monk and Walpole’s The Castle ofOtranto and more like Stoker’s Lucy Westenra, Dorian’s story takes a sinister turn when a destructive supernatural desire seizes him. Cyril Graham is a little different, he fashions himself as a Christ-like literary figure much like Walpole’s Mathilda.

When we are exploring the similarities between these two stories penned by Oscar Wilde there is also the use of a portrait as representative of a dangerous idea; for Dorian, it is eternal youth and beauty, for Cyril, it is the identity of Mr W.H. Suicide comes up a fair bit, as does the idea of the muse. As Dorian was Basil’s muse, so was Willie Hughes Shakespeare’s muse.